DH Painter & Decorator decorates let property in Hunsbury Meadows for landlords and letting agents, mainly repaints between tenancies. We cover the estate from our Northampton base, 2.2 miles away. We can work to an agent's key arrangements and send photos when the job is done.
Where the let homes are likely to be
No source we have seen describes the rental market in Hunsbury Meadows, so we won’t pretend to know how many homes are let. What the Land Registry sales records do show is the mix of housing. The original 1996-2001 estate is mostly detached houses, which are typically owner-occupied, but Riverstone Way also has terraced and semi-detached homes. The 2012-15 Pineham Lock phase by the canal is more mixed. Narrowboat Lane is roughly half flats or maisonettes by sales, and Lockgate Road and Canal Way have a lot of semis. Those smaller homes are the ones most likely to be let, and each type brings its own decorating issues.
Flats and maisonettes on Narrowboat Lane
Flats and maisonettes are normally leasehold. That splits the decorating into two parts. Inside the flat (walls, ceilings, internal doors and skirtings) is the landlord’s to deal with. Communal stairwells, entrance halls, external walls and sometimes the outer face of the flat’s front door are usually the responsibility of the freeholder or management company. Before we price a turnaround in one of these flats, it helps to know what the lease says, so we only quote for what you are allowed to change. If the management company wants communal areas done as well, we can quote them separately on their instruction.
Getting a void back on the market
For a turnaround, the priority is a clean, neutral finish that photographs well and survives the next tenancy. On the Pineham Lock homes, which are only around 10 to 13 years old, the walls are often still in the builder’s original matt emulsion. That paint marks the moment furniture touches it and doesn’t wash clean, so outgoing tenants leave scuffs that a quick touch-up can’t hide. Rather than patch it again, we seal the walls and change to a durable, wipeable matt in one standard neutral colour. Future tenancies can then be touched up from the same tin.
- Fill picture-hook holes and furniture dents, then sand them flush
- Seal thin builder’s emulsion before recoating
- Change to a wipeable finish in halls, kitchens and children’s rooms
- Refresh scuffed door edges and skirtings
- Leave a labelled note of the colour and product used
On the older Riverstone Way terraces and semis, the woodwork is now 25 to 30 years old. The gloss on doors and skirtings may have yellowed badly enough to make a freshly painted room look tired. Including the woodwork in the turnaround is often worth it there, and we will tell you if it isn’t needed.
Timing matters too. A short void doesn’t leave room for a full repaint of every room, so we can split the work. Walls, ceilings and anything a tenant would notice on a viewing come first, and woodwork follows if the dates allow. If the Riverstone Way terraces or the Pineham Lock semis have been let for several years in a row, we will walk round with you or your agent first and agree which rooms really need full coats this time.
Parking and access during a turnaround
Pavement parking on Riverstone Way was singled out in the parish council’s 2015 newsletter. For a property there, we agree the van spot in advance, or we use the property’s own drive if the tenant has left it clear. Pineham Lock streets are newer and more varied in layout. We check access for flats on Narrowboat Lane before the first day, including any fob or code for the communal door.
See our main landlord and letting agent decorating page for how we work with agents. The cost guide covers pricing, and the Hunsbury Meadows page covers the estate as a whole.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
